Published 4:00 am, Thursday, January 3, 2002

Photo: Jeff Chiu

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Adam Graves of the San Jose Sharks and Jeremy Roenick of the Philadelphia Flyers get close as they fight for the puck in the first period at the Compaq Center in San Jose on Wednesday night. Photo by Jeff Chiu / The Chronicle. less

Adam Graves of the San Jose Sharks and Jeremy Roenick of the Philadelphia Flyers get close as they fight for the puck in the first period at the Compaq Center in San Jose on Wednesday night. Photo by Jeff Chiu ... more

Gary Suter, Owen Nolan and Todd Harvey scored third-period goals to break a 2-2 tie as San Jose snapped a season-high five-game winless streak and retained its one-point lead over Dallas in the Pacific Division.

"We're a hard-working team that plays physical," Nolan said. "We had sort of gotten away from that."

Bryan Marchment's neutral-zone hit on Flyers enforcer Donald Brashear three minutes into the final period seemed to revitalize an inspired effort by the Sharks, who defeated Philadelphia for the first time in seven tries at Compaq Center.

"Was that a hit," Suter said. "Oh man, he must have caught him in the sweet spot. Boy, did he go down, and he's a big man."

"That reminds me of junior days," echoed Scott Thornton, a junior teammate of Marchment's. "He's been known for hits like that. It gave our team a big lift. I think he should have been the No. 1 star just for that."

As it turned out, Marchment was the No. 1 star, but it wasn't made possible until the Sharks broke the 2-2 tie.

Ninety-seven seconds after Marchment laid out Brashear, Marcus Ragnarsson drew minor penalties from Jeremy Roenick (elbow) and Chris McAllister (charging) to give the Sharks a full two-man advantage. It took the hosts only 44 seconds to convert only their third power play in their past 37 tries.

Suter one-timed a Nolan feed from the left point low past Roman Cechmanek for his third goal of the season -- the 200th of the defenseman's career -- for a 3-2 lead at 5:21. Nolan scored on a breakaway at 10:47, and Todd Harvey redirected a Suter drive at 13:54 to complete the third-period onslaught.

All agreed Marchment's third-period hit set the tone.

"It was a good hit," Marchment said. "It had been a while since I got one of those. I try to give the team a lift."

It was an uphill but worthwhile struggle for the Sharks, who lost Damphousse 7:25 into the first period.

Damphousse sustained a facial laceration after getting hammered into the glass by Flyers left wing Todd Fedoruk shortly after releasing a pass in the neutral zone. Fedoruk drove his right shoulder into Damphousse, who crumpled to the ice and needed assistance to the locker room. Sent home to rest, Damphousse was not available after the game.

Fedoruk, whose hit went unpenalized, was immediately engaged in a fight with Marchment, who drew a minor penalty for instigating and the accompanying 10-minute misconduct.

"I knew Vinny was hurt and I wanted to set the tone," said Marchment.

Damphousse required stitches to close a gash over his left eye. It was nearly a year ago when Damphousse sustained the most serious injury of his 16- year career. He missed 37 games after separating his left shoulder against Detroit on Jan. 15, 2001. The Sharks, 26-12-6-0 before the injury, struggled without Damphousse, going 13-15-6-3.

The hit on Damphousse and resulting non-call seemed to spark the Sharks, who increased the frequency and intensity of their physical game. Scott Thornton, who scored his 12th goal, Adam Graves, who scored his fifth, Mike Ricci (team-high eight hits and one assist), Harvey (goal and five hits) and Marchment stood out.

"Those guys were the difference in the game tonight, no question," coach Darryl Sutter said.

Miikka Kiprusoff, making only his second start since Nov. 15, stopped 22 of 24 shots to earn his third win of the season.

"He played really well," Sutter said. "It's good to see him respond like that."

NOTES: The Sharks confirmed yesterday that team mascot S.J. Sharkie was involved in a brief confrontation with Theoren Fleury when the New York Ranger forward left the ice after his ejection Friday night. A team spokesman said the matter is being handled internally, and with the full cooperation of the Rangers. Fleury reportedly struck the mascot in the ribs. . . . Flyers top scorer Simon Gagne rested because of a sore left shoulder and missed his first game of the season. D Eric Desjardins (finger) and D Francis Lessard (healthy) did not dress. . . . Forwards Mark Smith and Alexander Korolyuk were healthy scratches for the Sharks.